Hi all just found this site, Re the british Pathe film, When the camera pans back from Beryl
Rider No 198 is Paul Latham, Onto the race watch the rider on the third row of the grid on the
far side No 205 with the white fairing, who races into the lead, this is myself ,overtaken by
Charlie Mates going into Druids only for him to fall off on the exit, lead the race going onto
the then new circuit only to stop just after when the big end fails.

I owned one of the first batch of six competition Itom`s sold by A H Tooleys this was in 1957, with it
came an A4 printed sheet with Racer Riding Instructions . It stated that you should line yourself up
with the corner and on on account move your riding position (weight) or use your front brake otherwise
you will fall off!!!!!. Who this was printed by I cannot recall.
One of the reasons could have been that they were fitted with 20" wheels by 1 3/4" section, and tyres
made by "Ceat" The tyre footprint on the road must have been the size of a postage stamp.
On the 1958 and later models they reduced the size to 18" by 2" which was a great improvement
to road holding
It was not until 1962 prior to the TT that "Avon" produced a racing tyre for the 50cc machines.

As for the footret positions you try folding yourself under a fairing with normal footrest positions
you will find that your knees get in the way of your elbows

I owned one of the first batch of six competition Itom`s sold by A H Tooleys this was in 1957, with it came an A4 printed sheet with Racer Riding Instructions . It stated that you should line yourself up with the corner and on on account move your riding position (weight) or use your front brake otherwise you will fall off!!!!!. Who this was printed by I cannot recall. One of the reasons could have been that they were fitted with 20" wheels by 1 3/4" section, and tyresmade by "Ceat" The tyre footprint on the road must have been the size of a postage stamp. On the 1958 and later models they reduced the size to 18" by 2" which was a great improvementto road holding It was not until 1962 prior to the TT that "Avon" produced a racing tyre for the 50cc machines.

As for the footret positions you try folding yourself under a fairing with normal footrest positionsyou will find that your knees get in the way of your elbows

Hi TSD and welcome to this thread How nice of you to tell us "youngsters" how it was really like in the beginning!Did you race other marques in this class?Looking forward to hear your stories.

I owned one of the first batch of six competition Itom`s sold by A H Tooleys this was in 1957, with it came an A4 printed sheet with Racer Riding Instructions . It stated that you should line yourself up with the corner and on on account move your riding position (weight) or use your front brake otherwise you will fall off!!!!!. Who this was printed by I cannot recall. One of the reasons could have been that they were fitted with 20" wheels by 1 3/4" section, and tyresmade by "Ceat" The tyre footprint on the road must have been the size of a postage stamp. On the 1958 and later models they reduced the size to 18" by 2" which was a great improvementto road holding It was not until 1962 prior to the TT that "Avon" produced a racing tyre for the 50cc machines.

As for the footret positions you try folding yourself under a fairing with normal footrest positionsyou will find that your knees get in the way of your elbows

Thank you for that interesting info. I read somewhere that Itom riders adjusted up their front brake cables for scrutineering and then slackened them right off for the race. Now I can understand why! Also I can see the need for swingarm mounted footrests when knees and elbows are in one another's way. I assume that was because of a very short wheelbase?

Hi all
And especially the many CR110 and RC- Honda fans present.
I have just finished reading "Hondas four-stroke race history 1954- 1981"
Joep Kortekaas has made a masterpiece in the most complete Honda race- history so far,
describing every model in detail, and the results they achieved on track.

Is this you in person writing this , Senor Rodil del Valle ? If so, we are very honoured !

Mr. Philippe7, I have to tell you that Mr. Nicolás Rodil del Valle died in 2004 in Valencia (Spain), today he would be 95 years old. I'm his nephew and I'm glad you were honoured to talk to him. I have dozens of albums with photos of the time my uncle was FIM president (1965-1983), and also the time when he was Spanish Motocycle Federation president, between 1951 and 1959. As soon as I know how to upload photos to this forum I will put several that may be of interest to you. Greetings.

Herr Wankel, sorry if my explanation had already been settled beforehand. It is possible that, since I don't master the forum yet so I found it few dates ago, and my English is not as good as it should, I had overlooked that. In any case I apologize. A greeting.

Senor Rodil del Valle, sorry to hear about your uncle's death, I didn't know. Also, if I may speak for Herr Wankel I can assure you that there was nothing critical in his post, he was saying that the matter was now resolved, thanks to your post .

We will be very interested to see the pictures and documents you can post on this forum . Ther is a tutorial somewhere on the forum explianing how to post photos .

Senor Rodil del Valle, sorry to hear about your uncle's death, I didn't know. Also, if I may speak for Herr Wankel I can assure you that there was nothing critical in his post, he was saying that the matter was now resolved, thanks to your post .

We will be very interested to see the pictures and documents you can post on this forum . Ther is a tutorial somewhere on the forum explianing how to post photos .

Thank you Philippe,and well said.I only meant that the matter was resolved.A warm welcome to Senor Rdil de Valle from me and my fellow forum members

Came across these pictures on the web, not much info came with them though, but they seem worth sharing here.They were more than likely taken in Portugal and there was a mention of the "Autódromo do Estoril"]

Some bikes look more professionally built than others, and if this pic was taken at the start i'm guessing it was a low key event in which it was rather easy to enter?

Public and racers seem to mix and although i understand that was how it worked in those days, this looks really casual, no?

But the picture that intrigues me the most is this one.I do really like the lines of the bike, seems to be kreidler powered with the "typical" cilinder as found on the later models. What facinates me though, is the frame. The tubing looks so frail that i have trouble believing this is simply a miscalculated amateur effort. Does this ring a bell with anybody, or are my eyes failing me and is the tubing no slimmer than usual?Judging by the double disk brakes this must be late '70s or early '80's?

But the picture that intrigues me the most is this one.I do really like the lines of the bike, seems to be kreidler powered with the "typical" cilinder as found on the later models. What facinates me though, is the frame. The tubing looks so frail that i have trouble believing this is simply a miscalculated amateur effort. Does this ring a bell with anybody, or are my eyes failing me and is the tubing no slimmer than usual?Judging by the double disk brakes this must be late '70s or early '80's?

Just heard the sad news that Dereck Savoury has passed away Dereck was in his 70's and raced 125cc and 50cc machines with success in the 60s including a Honda Cr110 which he purchased from George Ashton. A great friend RIP Dereck

Just heard the sad news that Dereck Savoury has passed away Dereck was in his 70's and raced 125cc and 50cc machines with success in the 60s including a Honda Cr110 which he purchased from George Ashton. A great friend RIP Dereck

Itoms seemed to be the most popular mount in the sixties, though clearly inferior to the Kreidlers. What was the mean maxium speed of those machines (not specials, ie liquid cooled, disc valved etc). Would an honest 65-70 mph (105-112 kph) be near the mark for a decent one? I imagine it must have been a real struggle to keep in on the pipe with the three speed models.

Itoms seemed to be the most popular mount in the sixties, though clearly inferior to the Kreidlers. What was the mean maxium speed of those machines (not specials, ie liquid cooled, disc valved etc). Would an honest 65-70 mph (105-112 kph) be near the mark for a decent one? I imagine it must have been a real struggle to keep in on the pipe with the three speed models.

Wonderful ekspression - keeping it on the pipe Here is one getting on the pipe:

I'll take a guess 1978 going on the gear they're wearing, think I was at the odd meeting with 50cc grids around that time

Hi Tony, ex-Bantam racer and now big Duke sprinter! What are you doing here among the tiddlers? I was going to give you a ring and to see what your plans are for this season. Hope to see you at Honington in May.

Hi Tony, ex-Bantam racer and now big Duke sprinter! What are you doing here among the tiddlers? I was going to give you a ring and to see what your plans are for this season. Hope to see you at Honington in May.

Howard

Hi Howard

been lurking on this site for a while now some great nostalgia, hoping to be out this season not sure how many meetings though, I call you when I get chance ;)

been lurking on this site for a while now some great nostalgia, hoping to be out this season not sure how many meetings though, I call you when I get chance ;)

Anyone here care to join Tony and me at a sprint organised by Torque events in the East Anglia area this season? The smaller capacity classes haven't been well represented recently so it would be fantastic to see some fifties this year, but all types of bikes and all capacity classes are welcome. Check out WWW.TORQUEEVENTS.COM and have a look at the Torque Events Youtube promotional video.